Laundry Stain Pretreater

As a follow up to our early post on Homemade Laundry Soap we had to test out several Laundry Stain Pretreaters before one we really liked.  Who knew two ingredients could remove stains so well!

Supplies needed:

• Glass Jar (we used canning jars and they held up well)

• Laundry Soap Bar (or non-perfume bar, try Fels Naptha or Colgate)

• Hot Water

Instructions:

• Shave the bar of soap just like with the Laundry Detergent until the shavings fill half of the jar.  Do not pack them tightly or it will be difficult for soap to melt.  
• Fill the rest of the jar with hot water.  We used the water out of an electric kettle.  Cover with lid.  
• Allow the water to melt the soap a bit to soften up then shake.  Continue to shake occasionally until all of the soap is dissolved.  Once all of the soap is dissolved, allow to cool completely, then it is ready for use. 

For use:

• Apply to stain and scrub gently.  

• For a heavily soiled item allow to set overnight before washing.
  

 Recipe adapted from Tipnut.com

Are you hungry?

 Cheddar Cheese & Parmaesan Garlic Goldfish

 Soft Pretzels and Boonesboro Beer Cheese Dip

 Pizza Bread

 Caramel Apple Sticky Buns

Sticky Pecan Mini-Buns

Who would have thought...

Who would have thought that there wouldn't be enough hours in the day to find a few quite moments to sit down at the computer, put some words and pictures together and make a post to the blog?

Any advice from those bloggers out there how to make it all work?

Back on track!

We are back...Judy has been busy substitute teaching and Adena has been recovering from hand surgery. This week we have two great posts to share with you:

Monday - Homemade Goldfish
Wednesday - Stain Remover

Next week we will have Soft Pretzels with Boonesboro Beer Cheese Dip and some crafty Thanksgiving ideas.

Have a great week!

Judy and Adena

Sorry!

We apologize for not keeping up with the blog!

All we can say is, life happens.

Tomorrow we will have a post up on homemade goldfish with pictures to follow with step by step instructions and lots of posts ready to follow that.

Thanks!

Adena and Judy

Another wonderful basket from Your Neighborhood Produce!

Your Neighborhood Produce

Baked Sweet Potato Chips

This post is for our friends at Your Neighborhood Produce!

 

Recently our friends at Your Neighborhood Produce held their own version of Iron Chef to see what incredibly yummy creations could be made out of the weekly baskets.  My submission included Brown Sugar and Cinnamon Baked Sweet Potato Chips.  Below is the recipe.  Enjoy!

Step 1: Scrub the potatoes, do not peel, leaving it on helps keep the shape of the chip. Preheat the oven to 275* and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Step 2: Thinly slice the potato.  I used a mandolin, if you have a steady hand and a sharp knife that will work just as well.  The width of the slice is purely your decision.  I like them really thin, it helps them crisp up during the baking process.

Step 3: Pour all of the slices into a large bowl and coat with olive oil.  At the time I made my submission we only had canola oil in the house and you can't tell the difference.  In addition to the oil, add cinnamon and brown sugar.  You can use a spoon to mix it all up but I like using my hands.  With my hands it is easier to tell if everything is evenly coated.

Step 4: Layer the chips on the baking sheets.  Try not to overlap them, when this happens it will take those areas longer to bake.  Cook for approximately 25 minutes and then flip the chips.  When I checked them I decided I wanted to add more cinnamon and sugar, again, it's to your own taste. Cook for at least an additional 25 minutes and check.  Depending on how your oven cooks the chips may need to stay in for awhile longer.

Step 5: Allow chips to cool on the baking sheets.  They may still be soft when done cooking, they will crisp up a little as they cool off.  Baked sweet potato chips can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days but I doubt they will last that long.  Enjoy!

-Adena

Laundry Detergent Step-By-Step

We can all accept the fact that we have the ability to run into the grocery store, drug store or our local chain big box store and come out with laundry detergent, whether its powder or liquid, scented or unscented, and enough for a few loads or the economy size. The question to ask yourself: "is there a benefit to all the choices and convenience when you can make your own at home with minimal ingredients and effort for a fraction of the cost?"

A few years ago I was introduced to homemade laundry detergent (thank you Holly) and fell in love with it! It was safe enough to use on our newborn baby's skin, it does not bother my daughter's eczema, and my husband prefers our clothes not to be scented. Below are the step-by-step instructions to make your own. If you don't like our version there are many out there to try.

HOMEMADE LAUNDRY DETERGENT

Step 1: Scrounge through the closets, pantry, garage, basement, etc. and find an old pot that you can use to make the laundry detergent in as well as any other cleaning products you might want to try.

Step 2: Grate a 1/2 bar of Fels Naptha into the pot. If you are unable to find Fels Naptha, you can look for Colgate, Kirk's Castile Soap or Zote. If your local stores do not carry these brands do not despair, they are easily found online to be ordered.

Step 3: To the pot add 1/2 cup 20 Mule Team Borax (stains & bleaching); 1/2 cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (stains); and 1/2 cup White Vinegar (softens fabric, reduces static, and bleaches.)

Step 4: Pour in 4 quarts of water. Turn the burner to medium high heat. Stir the mixture slowly until all of the ingredients are dissolved.

Step 5: Now is the point in which you want to let it cool down. If you can hold out an hour, that is best but I have been rushed and skipped this step and everything still turns out okay. To the cooled mixture you want to add two gallons of water and stir. Now you're done!

No, you're not quite done yet.

Step 6: You need to store the detergent. I have found that washed out plastic cat litter containers work great as well as gallon milk jugs. You are going to want something with a lid so that when the detergent gels up a little, you can shake it up or add more hot water if necessary.

Step 7: Time to do the laundry! I have found for the smaller loads a 1/4 cup will do but for the more heavily stained and larger loads you are going to want to use up to 1/2 cup. These measurements will vary for everyone as some have hard water, older machines, he machines, etc. It will take a little experimenting to see what works for you!

We do not add any scents to the detergent as the bar soap keeps the detergent smelling fresh (and the house smells great after you make this.) Some people will add a little rose water or an essential oil if they are so inclined, the choice is yours.

Now take a deep breath and tackle that mountain of laundry you have been avoiding!

-Adena

Is it wrong...

Is it wrong to be excited about buying a 50lb. bag of bread flour and dreaming about what you'll bake with it?

I picked this up the other day along with a 25lb. bag of all purpose flour and I know the kitchen is going to be a busy place over the next several of days.

Any suggestions on how to store all this flour?

-Adena

All Washed Up

Being a mom of 4 rough and tumble boys, you can imagine the laundry I do! Add to that the Carolina red clay and the fact that I am a massage therapist who washes oil stained sheets on a daily basis and you’ve got the Himalayas of laundry. Can you imagine the dirt and stains I contend with?

I have been searching for a laundry detergent that cleans deeply to help me with my dilemma. When Adena said we were going to make our own detergent, I was skeptical. Could homemade laundry soap do as good of a job? Would it be able to get the oil stains and the dank oil smell out of my sheets? Well…I was pleasantly surprised it DID!!! Oil doesn’t only stain, but it leaves a rancid smell and makes the sheets stiff over time. After I did several loads of clothes and was happy with the results; I put our laundry soap to the test…OLD MASSAGE LINENS! They came out clean, soft and there was only a vague hint of the oil smell. This was amazing. These were old sheets that have already been washed plenty of times and had oil build up. The laundry soap not only got out old oil spots, but eliminated most of the musky smell (I could barely tell it was there and I have a sensitive nose; ask my husband), I can only imagine how it would work on new sheets. I was excited. I emailed Adena right way and said, “I want to write about the laundry soap, it’s awesome”.

SUMMARY: it was easy and fun to make, we saved money, and it worked better than what I’ve been buying from the store. The laundry soap gets two thumbs up. Our laundry soap has a nice light clean smell, but I am going to try to add either lavender or lemon essential oil to give it a little scent for fun. I’ll let you know how it works out...

-Judy

Next Up: Step by Step Instruction on how to make you own Laundry Detergent

Coming Soon: Spot Remover

On the Menu: Homemade Soft Pretzels

A Teaser...

We participate in a local produce co-op called, Your Neighborhood Produce. One of our goals is to plan our weekly meals around the items in our baskets.

Check out  Your Neighborhood Produce.

Get Ready!

Judy and I have been busy cooking, researching and having some fun since we turned on our blog.  Check back this weekend for some great posts and pictures documenting our journey!

-Adena

Welcome to Surviving Suburbia!

The world is changing and quickly at that.  Daily we are bombarded by news about the environment, the economy and about health and wellness.  Going off the grid seems to be the solution, but getting there is an overwhelming prospect.  

In talking about our long term goal of “going off the grid” we realized that to get there we needed to start doing it as much as we can where we are at --- which is “Suburbia”.  We live in Lake Wylie, South Carolina in a small subdivision called, Mill Creek Falls.  If you are beginning to get images of Bedford Falls, from “It’s a Wonderful Life”, in your mind, STOP, wipe that picture from your imagination, because, well, it’s more like a scene from “It’s a Crazy Life”.   We are two moms with six children between us, throw in two husbands, four cats, a dog, trying to start a massage business, do some laundry and taking kids to piano lessons, cooking meals, volunteering activities and trying to find a moment of quiet among all that…Now you get the picture.

We realized that to get off the grid would mean getting out of debt so that we could be in a position to buy land with water, build a house with an alternative energy source and learn how to garden.  This task alone is daunting.  We recognized to even begin to work toward this goal we needed to learn how to save money and chip away at debt.  To be able to do this we would have to learn how to live on less.

We are by no means experts on the subject matter, although we will have guest bloggers from time to time who are just that, experts.  This blog is to share our experiences in our attempt to go green, save money, and be healthy.

Bear with us if we goof up an experiment or if we make a mistake from time to time; that’s where all the fun is anyway and feel free to share your experiences with us.

-Two Suburban Moms

Judy & Adena